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Dead penguins, dolphins wash ashore in Brazil

Tue 20 Jul 2010, 3:14 PM AEST

Environment officials are investigating why hundreds of dead penguins and other sea animals are washing up on Brazil's shores.

The Institute of Environment and Natural Resources says 530 penguins, numerous other sea birds, five dolphins and three giant sea turtles have been found in coastal towns in Sao Paulo, the Folha Online news agency reported.

The institute says Sao Paulo University biologists and a wildlife research centre are looking into the possible reasons for the animal deaths.

Praia Grande authorities have ruled out pollution, saying preliminary investigations point to starvation as the cause.

The most likely scenario for the penguin deaths is exhaustion and hunger during their long migration from the waters off Argentina's southern Patagonia region, according to Andrea Maranho, a veterinarian for the Sea Animal Rehabilitation Centre in Praia Grande.